System management and maintenance in a distributed computing environment

ABSTRACT

Technology for monitoring all resources and services of a distributed computing environment to collect and store information technology (IT) infrastructure resources, task resource usage metrics, and idle times of the environment. A system management task, both manually created by administrators and automatically scheduled, is queued on a management queue to be processed at a later time. When the system management task is removed from the queue, resources required to execute the activity of the distributed computing environment are then requested. The task is authorized to execute if the requested resources and time to complete the activity are available. The resources are then secured and the system management task executed in the distributed computing environment.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of distributedcomputing, and more particularly to system management and maintenance ofdistributed computing systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Distributed computing environments provide users with computationaloperations, software, data access, storage and network services that donot require end-user knowledge of the physical location andconfiguration of the system delivering the service. A distributedcomputing environment typically involves dynamic, secure, and scalableprovisioning of virtualized resources such as virtual machines, storagevolumes, and networking resources. A virtual machine (VM) is asoftware-based emulation of a computer which operates based on thecomputer architecture and functions of a real or physical computer.

Systems management refers to the enterprise wide administration ofdistributed computing systems. A distributed computing system is asoftware computing system in which components located on networkedcomputers communicate and coordinate operations by passing datamessages. System management may involve hardware inventories, serveravailability monitoring and metrics, software inventory andinstallation, anti-virus and anti-malware management, user activitymonitoring, capacity monitoring, security management, storagemanagement, and network capacity and utilization monitoring. “Systemmaintenance tasks” are also known. Herein, system maintenance and/ormanagement tasks will be collectively referred to as system managementtasks.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is a method,computer program product and/or system that performs the followingoperations (not necessarily in the following order): (i) collecting afirst plurality of metrics, with the first plurality of metrics relatingto information technology (IT) resources in a distributed computingenvironment; (ii) collecting a second plurality of metrics, with thesecond plurality relating to use of services in the distributedcomputing environment; and (iii) determining a set ofrelatively-available resources of the distributed computing environmentupon which to run a system management task based, at least in part uponthe first plurality of metrics and the second plurality of metrics.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a distributedcomputing environment, in an embodiment in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating the task automation,continuous monitoring, and analysis components of a distributed system,in an embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation steps of monitoring,and analyzing historical usage of resources in the distributed computingenvironment, in an embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation steps of themonitoring, and analyses of a registered task in the distributedcomputing environment, in an embodiment in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating operational steps of the taskautomation, continuous monitoring, and analyses of a distributedcomputing environment, in an embodiment in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of components of the computer managementsystem in an embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention recognize that unutilized resourcesof a distributed computing environment, such as hypervisors, storage,computer processing units, and networks to perform system managementactivities such as lifecycle management tasks on virtual machine (VM)template images for example. Typical lifecycle management tasks aresoftware and patch installation on VM templates to keep the VM templatesup to date when they are instantiated or brought online. These types ofactivities are expensive to perform in terms of resources. The VMtemplates must be brought online first before any software updates orpatches can be applied, then taken offline again. A distributedcomputing environment may have thousands of these templates in a publicenvironment. Understanding when the distributed computing environment isnot being used to conduct business operations is beneficial to serviceproviders from a system management standpoint. Using the distributedcomputing environment during idle times for performing maintenance andmaintenance tasks can save money for the distributed computingenvironment provider by not requiring additional resources formanagement tasks.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention will now bedescribed in detail with reference to the Figures. FIG. 1 provides onlyan illustration of one embodiment and does not imply any limitationswith regard to the environments in which different embodiments may beimplemented. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram, generally depicted bythe numeral 100, illustrating a distributed computing environment, in anembodiment in accordance with the present invention. Computer managementsystem 102 may be a Web server, or any other electronic device orcomputing system, capable of processing program instructions andreceiving and sending data to system management software 134. Computermanagement system is a software system hosted on one or more physical orvirtual machines in the distributed computing environment 100. In someembodiments, computer management system 102 may be a laptop computer, atablet computer, a netbook computer, a personal computer (PC), a desktopcomputer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, or anyprogrammable electronic device capable of communicating with network112. In other embodiments, computer management system 102 may representa server computing system utilizing multiple computers as a serversystem, such as in a distributed computing environment. In general,computer management system 102 is representative of any electronicdevice or combination of electronic devices capable of executingmachine-readable program instructions, as described in greater detailwith regard to FIG. 6, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. Computer management system 102 includes RAM 104, a centralprocessing unit 106, and persistent storage 108.

Persistent storage 108 may, for example, be a hard disk drive.Alternatively, or in addition to a magnetic hard disk drive, persistentstorage 108 can include a solid state hard drive, a semiconductorstorage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM), flash memory, or any other computer-readable storagemedium that is capable of storing program instructions or digitalinformation. Management application 110 is stored in persistent storage108 includes operating system software as well as software that enablescomputer management system 102 to communicate with users, and othercomputer systems in the distributed computing environment over network112. In other embodiments, there may be many computer management systemscontaining management application 110 on one or more distributedcomputing environments.

In FIG. 1, network 112 is shown as the interconnecting fabric betweencomputer management system 102 and distributed server 114. In practice,the connection may be any viable data transport network, such as, forexample, a LAN or WAN. Network 112 can be, for example, a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or acombination of the two, and include wired, wireless, or fiber opticconnections. In general, network 112 can be any combination ofconnections and protocols that will support communications betweencomputer management system 102 and distributed systems server 114 inaccordance with a desired embodiment of the invention.

Distributed systems server 114 may be a management server, a web server,or any other electronic device or computing system capable of receivingand sending data. In some embodiments, distributed systems server 114may be a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a netbook computer, apersonal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a smart phone, or any programmable device capable ofcommunication with computing computer management system 102 over network112. In other embodiments, distributed systems server 114 may representa server computing system utilizing multiple computers as a serversystem, such as in a distributed computing environment. Distributedsystems server 114 also contains memory pool 116, central processingunit (CPU) pool 118, network pool 120, managed services pool 122,storage pool 124, virtual infrastructure 126, virtual machines (VM) 128,and operating systems 130.

Memory pool 116, also known as fixed size block allocation, is the useof pools e.g., dynamic memory allocation for memory management, bypre-allocating a number of memory blocks with the same size called thememory pool. In one embodiment of the present invention, softwareapplications may allocate, access, and free blocks of memory representedwith the use of handles during run time processing. CPU pool 118 is apool of processors that allows sharing of a group of processors betweenmultiple logical and physical computer systems. Network pool 120 isgroup of undifferentiated networks which are available for use within anenvironment consisting of network resources such as VLAN IDs, portgroups, physical and virtual isolated networks. Managed services pool122 are outsourced service applications, databases, backup and recovery,data storage, assets, or network management such as a strategic methodfor improving operations and expenses.

Storage pool 124 is a quantity of storage set aside by an administratorfor use by virtual machines. Additional storage may be added to the poolwhen required. Virtual infrastructure 126 is computer software, firmwareor hardware that creates and runs virtual machines. Virtual machines 128is a software-based emulation of a computer system that operates basedon the computer architecture and functions of a real computer system.Operating systems 130 is software that manages computer hardwareresources and provides common services for computer programs.

Storage pool 124 also includes virtual machine (VM) templates 132,system management software 134, resource monitor 136, historicaldatabase 138, management forecaster 140, and task management queue 142.VM templates 132 are reusable images created from a virtual machinewhich typically include virtual hardware components, an installed guestoperating system with software patches and software applications. Systemmanagement software 134 is the executor of all manually created andscheduled tasks by automated processes in distributed computingenvironment 100. In addition, systems management software 134 may makeuse of software agents installed on systems, such as VMs, of thedistributed computing environment 100. Resource monitor 136 isresponsible for the collection of resources and services, resource usagelevel and metrics, and historical data used to perform statistics andanalysis to predict idle times in distributed computing environment 100.Historical database 138 is the repository for the collection ofresources, resource usage level and metrics, and historical datacollected by resource monitor 136. Management forecaster 140 replies torequests from system management software authorizing resources ofdistributed computing environment 100 to perform requested tasks for agiven amount of time. Task management queue 142 is the backlog ofmanagement tasks to be performed in distributed computing environment100.

VM templates 132, system management software 134, resource monitor 136,historical database 138, management forecaster 140, and task managementqueue 142 can be implemented with any type of storage device that iscapable of storing data that may be accessed and utilized by managementapplication 110. In one embodiment, VM templates 132, system managementsoftware 134, resource monitor 136, historical database 138, managementforecaster 140, and task management queue 142 may reside on distributedsystems server 114. In another embodiment, VM templates 132, systemmanagement software 134, resource monitor 136, historical database 138,management forecaster 140, and task management queue 142 may reside oncomputing management system 102 or on other computer systems connectedover network 112 in distributed computing environment 100.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram, generally depicted by the numeral200, illustrating the task automation, continuous monitoring, andanalysis components of a distributed system, in an embodiment inaccordance with the present invention. Distributed systems server 114contains task management queue 142 to temporarily store tasks created bysystem administrators to perform system management tasks on distributedcomputing environment 100. Tasks are placed on task management queue 142by system management software 134. In computer science, a queue is aparticular kind of abstract data type or collection in which theentities of the collection are kept in order. In one embodiment, theremay be one or more management queues used to store and execute systemmanagement tasks. System management software 134 is the executor of thesystem management tasks created by system administrators. Systemmanagement software 134 removes the tasks from task management queue 142and requests the resources and services required to complete the tasksfrom resource monitor 136. If the resources are available, systemmanagement software 134 allocates and reserves the resources, executesthe task, then releases the resources back to the distributed computingenvironment 200. In one embodiment, system management software 134 mayexecute in a virtual machine such as VM 202 through 210 or on a physicalserver partition. In other embodiments system management software 134may reside on a separate computer system in distributed computingenvironment 100.

Distributed systems server 114 also contains VM templates 132. VMtemplates 132 are reusable images created from a virtual machine whichtypically include virtual hardware components, an installed guestoperating system with software patches and software applications. VMtemplates 132 are used when creating a virtual machine such as VM 202through 210. In one embodiment, VM templates 132 may be contained in avirtual machine or on a physical partition. In other embodiments, VMtemplates 132 may be contained on a separate computer system indistributed computing environment 100.

Virtual machines VM 202 through 210 are managed by system managementsoftware 134 to perform system management tasks on distributed computingenvironment 100. Resources and time are requested by system managementsoftware 134 and used to allocate VM 202 through 210 which execute onvirtual infrastructure 126. Virtual infrastructure 126 is computersoftware, firmware or hardware that creates and runs virtual machines.Management forecaster 140 determines resource availability for resourcemonitor 136 by examining resource usage metrics of requested tasks inhistorical database 138. Management forecaster 140 also interacts withsystem management software 134 granting or restricting resources such asprocessors from CPU pool 118, memory from memory pool 116, storage fromstorage pool 124, network bandwidth from network pool 120, and servicesfrom managed services pool 122 for requested tasks. In one embodiment,management forecaster 140 may reside in a virtual machine or physicalpartition in distributed systems server 114. In other embodiments,management forecaster 140 may reside on a computer system thedistributed computing environment 100.

Distributed systems server 114 also contains resource monitor 136 whichis responsible for collecting usage levels of resources and historicaldata of the entire distributed computing environment 100 and tasksperformed in distributed computing environment 100. When monitoring forthe entire distributed computing environment 100, resource monitor 136collects historical usage of the resource metrics on a shortconfigurable period of time, e.g., 1 minute or 1 hour, on a daily basis.This allows resource monitor 136 to recall resource metrics on a givenday and time. For example, resource monitor 136 can be used to analyze aspecific resource in distributed computing environment 100 for the firsthour in the day on every Monday. Resource monitor 136 also stores themetrics of all resources in distributed computing environment 100 forspecial events and holidays around the world such as Christmas Day andThanksgiving.

The mean value and other statistical indicators such as standarddeviation of the resource metrics used by a specific task and the meanvalue of the duration that task took to complete can also be determinedby resource monitor 136. For example, resource monitor 136 can be usedto collect the resource metrics and the average duration of task “abc”executing in distributed computing environment 100 on a given daterange. In one embodiment, resource monitor 136 may be used to identifyperiods of inactivity and advertise special offers to customers ofdistributed computing environment 100. In another embodiment, resourcemonitor 136 may be used to identify recurring periods of intenseactivity of distributed computing environment 100 to forecast whenadditional resources will be needed. In another embodiment, resourcemonitor 136 may reside in a virtual machine such as VM 202 through 210running on virtual hardware 126. In other embodiments, resource monitor136 may reside on a computer system located in distributed computingenvironment 100. Historical database 138 is used to store the collectedresource usage levels such as processors from CPU pool 118, memory frommemory pool 116 storage from storage pool 124, network bandwidth fromnetwork pool 120, and services from managed services pool 122 forrequested tasks and historical data of executing tasks in distributedcomputing environment 100. In one embodiment, historical database 138may reside in a virtual machine such as VM 202 through 210 running onvirtual hardware 126. In other embodiments, historical database 138 mayreside on a computer system located in distributed computing environment100.

CPU pool 118, memory pool 116, storage pool 124, network pool, 120, andmanaged services pool 122 are all monitored by resource monitor 136 andmanaged by system management software 134. Management forecaster 140reports the availability of these resources and system managementsoftware 134 allocates and reserves resources from these pools based onthe determination of management forecaster 140. In one embodiment, CPUpool 118, memory pool 116, storage pool 124, network pool 120, andmanaged services pool 122 may be located in a single computer system indistributed computing environment 100. In another embodiment, CPU pool118, memory pool 116, storage pool 124, network pool 120, and managedservices pool 122 may reside in separate computer systems throughoutdistributed computing environment 100.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart, generally depicted by the numeral 300,illustrating the operation steps of monitoring, and analyzing historicalusage of resources in the distributed computing environment 100, in anembodiment in accordance with the present invention. In step 302, aninstance of resource monitor 136 is started and begins monitoringdistributed computing environment 100. In step 304, resource monitor 136records the infrastructure resources such as number of CPUs, totalmemory, and disk space and stores the metrics in historical database138.

In step 306, resource monitor 136 records the resource usage metricssuch as the number of database queries, big data transactions, number ofapplication program interface (API) calls, and amount of memory and diskstorage used for the executing scheduled tasks or manually initiateduser processes. More specifically, monitor 136 collects: (i) a first setof metrics, with the first set of metrics relating to informationtechnology (IT) resources in a distributed computing environment; and(ii) a second set of metrics, with the second set relating to use ofservices in the distributed computing environment.

In step 308, resource monitor 136 stores the resource usage metrics inhistorical database 138 to be later used to make forecast decisions bymanagement forecaster 140 or to provide administrators with statisticalusage details of distributed computing environment 100. The process isthen repeated with resource monitor 136 executing steps 304 through 308at intervals defined by the administrator of the distributed computingenvironment 100.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart, generally depicted by the numeral 400,illustrating the operation steps of the monitoring, and analyses of aregistered task in distributed computing environment 100, in anembodiment in accordance with the present invention. In step 402, a taskis registered with resource monitor 136 to execute in distributedcomputing environment 100. In step 404, resource monitor 136 collectsthe infrastructure resource metrics such as number of CPUs used, totalmemory used, and disk space used by the executing task. In step 406,resource monitor 136 records the infrastructure resources such as numberof CPUs, total memory, and disk space used by the task. In step 408,resource monitor 136 records the infrastructure resource metrics such asnumber of CPUs used, total memory used, and disk space used by theexecuting task. In step 410, resource monitor 136 stores the resourceusage metrics in historical database 138 to be later used to makeforecast decisions by management forecaster 140 or to provideadministrators with statistical usage details of distributed computingenvironment 100.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart, generally depicted by the numeral 500,illustrating operational steps of the task automation, continuousmonitoring, and analyses of distributed computing environment 100, in anembodiment in accordance with the present invention. Generally speaking,flowchart 500 sets forth a method for determining a set ofrelatively-available resources of the distributed computing environmentupon which to run a system management task based, at least in part, uponthe service-related and resource-related metrics discussed above.

In step 502, an administrator of distributed computing environment 100creates task “abc” and inserts the task to task management queue 142. Instep 504, system management software 134 removes task “abc” from taskmanagement queue 142 and requests permission to execute the task frommanagement forecaster 140. In decision step 506, management forecaster140 determines if task “abc” has been executed by system managementsoftware 134 previously. If task “abc” is new (“yes” branch, decision506), management forecaster 140 uses the administrators time estimate torequest resource availability from resource monitor 136 as depicted instep 508. In step 510, resource monitor 136 checks historical database138 for available times when resources of distributed computingenvironment 100 may be available to execute task “abc”. Resource monitor136 makes this determination by examining the past idle times ofdistributed computing environment 100 stored in historical database 138.In step 512, management forecaster 140 registers the new task “abc” withresource monitor 136 so that historical data will be collected for task“abc” when task “abc” is executed again in the future.

If task “abc” has been executed before (“no” branch, decision 506),management forecaster 140 requests resource availability from resourcemonitor 136 as depicted in step 514. In step 518, resource monitor 136checks historical database 138 for available times when resources ofdistributed computing environment 100 may be available by analyzingusage data collected over time. In step 520, management forecaster 140formulates the answer to whether task “abc” should be authorized to runon distributed computing environment 100 based on results gathered byresource monitor 136 in historical database 138. In decision step 522,system management software 134 determines to run task “abc” based on theresult from management forecaster 140 in step 520. If task “abc” isauthorized to run (“yes” branch, decision 522), system managementsoftware 134 requests the required resources to complete the task fromresource monitor 136 as depicted in step 524. In step 526, resourcemonitor 136 begins recording the resource usage and metrics of task“abc” and stores them in historical database 138 as described in greaterdetail with regard to FIG. 4. If task “abc” is not authorized to execute(“no” branch, decision 522), system management software 134 pushes task“abc” back on task management queue 142 in step 528. The process is thenrepeated with system management software 134, management forecaster 140,and resource monitor 136 executing steps 504 through 528 continuously.

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of components of the computer managementsystem 600 in an illustrative embodiment in accordance with the presentinvention. It should be appreciated that FIG. 6 provides only anillustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitationswith regard to the environments in which different embodiments may beimplemented. Many modifications to the depicted environment may be made.

Computer management system 102 includes communications fabric 602, whichprovides communications between computer processor(s) 604, memory 606,persistent storage 608, communications unit 610, and input/output (I/O)interface(s) 612. Communications fabric 602 can be implemented with anyarchitecture designed for passing data and/or control informationbetween processors (such as microprocessors, communications and networkprocessors, etc.), system memory, peripheral devices, and any otherhardware components within a system. For example, communications fabric602 can be implemented with one or more buses.

Memory 606 and persistent storage 608 are computer readable storagemedia. In this embodiment, memory 606 includes random access memory(RAM) 614 and cache memory 616. In general, memory 606 can include anysuitable volatile or non-volatile computer readable storage media.

Management application 110 is stored in persistent storage 608 forexecution by one or more of the respective computer processors 604 viaone or more memories of memory 606. In this embodiment, persistentstorage 608 includes a magnetic hard disk drive. Alternatively, or inaddition to a magnetic hard disk drive, persistent storage 608 caninclude a solid state hard drive, a semiconductor storage device,read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),flash memory, or any other computer readable storage media that iscapable of storing program instructions or digital information.

The media used by persistent storage 608 may also be removable. Forexample, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage 608.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, andsmart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto anothercomputer readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage608.

Communications unit 610, in these examples, provides for communicationswith other data processing systems or devices, including resources ofnetwork 112 and distributed systems server 114. In these examples,communications unit 610 includes one or more network interface cards.Communications unit 610 may provide communications through the use ofeither or both physical and wireless communications links. Managementapplication 110 may be downloaded to persistent storage 608 throughcommunications unit 610.

I/O interface(s) 612 allows for input and output of data with otherdevices that may be connected to computer management system 102. Forexample, I/O interface 612 may provide a connection to external devices618 such as a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or some othersuitable input device. External devices 618 can also include portablecomputer readable storage media such as, for example, thumb drives,portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Software and dataused to practice embodiments of the present invention, e.g., managementapplication 110, can be stored on such portable computer readablestorage media and can be loaded onto persistent storage 608 via I/Ointerface(s) 612. I/O interface(s) 612 also connect to a display 620.

Display 620 provides a mechanism to display data to a user and may be,for example, a computer monitor. The programs described herein areidentified based upon the application for which they are implemented ina specific embodiment of the invention. However, it should beappreciated that any particular program nomenclature herein is usedmerely for convenience, and thus the invention should not be limited touse solely in any specific application identified and/or implied by suchnomenclature.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: collecting a first pluralityof metrics, with the first plurality of metrics relating to informationtechnology (IT) resources in a distributed computing environment;collecting a second plurality of metrics, with the second pluralityrelating to use of services in the distributed computing environment;and determining a set of relatively-available resources of thedistributed computing environment upon which to run a system managementtask based, at least in part upon the first plurality of metrics and thesecond plurality of metrics.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein: the firstplurality of metrics includes at least one metric related to each of thefollowing areas: processing power and storage capacity; and the secondplurality of metrics includes at least one metric related to each of thefollowing areas: database queries and big data transactions.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 wherein: the distributed computing environmentincludes at least a first cloud and second cloud; and the secondplurality of metrics includes at least one metric that relates to datatransactions where the first cloud accesses the second cloud.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the system management task is a cloudmaintenance job.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising: runningthe system management task on the relatively-available set of resources.6. The method of claim 1 further comprising: monitoring consumption ofIT resources by the running of the system management task to determine aset of IT resource consumption value(s) associated with the systemmanagement task; and monitoring consumption of services by the runningof the system management task to determine a set of service consumptionvalue(s) associated with the system management task.
 7. The method ofclaim 6 further comprising: communicating in human understandable and/ormachine readable form at least one of the following: the set of serviceconsumption value(s), and the set of IT resource consumption value(s).